1878 Hydes & Wigfull STANLEY penny farthing
52″ Front wheel
18″ Rear wheel
(Now sold)
Hydes & Wigfull’s ‘The Stanley’ was so called because the company was based in Stanley St, Sheffield. It uses a Stanley steering head, which was a big improvement on the basic steering heads used previously. The invention of the ‘Stanley Head’ has been attributed to Thomas Humber, though Hydes & Wigfull registered the name ‘Stanley’ as a trademark. I’m not sure if that means they invented the steering head, or if they registered Humber’s design, or if it was just clever marketing to use the same name for their bicycle. They exhibited the ‘celebrated Stanley Bicycle’ at the Yorkshire Agricultural Show in 1874. Many other manufacturers used the same type of steering head at this time.
‘The Stanley’ was restored many years ago and its red paintwork is still in good condition. My friend Pete owned it for 31 years and, as a science teacher, he used it as a teaching aid to explain to children about speed, distance, time, materials and evolution.
The front wheel has a replacement hub, roller bearings, and 50 tangential bronze spokes, while the rear wheel has plain bearings. It retains its original horn handlebar grips and pedals (with original rubbers). The saddle was recovered over the original base; the original cover had a date stamp of 1878. The front brake has been removed as Pete preferred to ride it like that, but the brake is supplied with the machine. It is rare to find a named Ordinary – one side of the head says THE STANLEY and the other side the maker’s name HYDES & WIGFULL LIMITED, SHEFFIELD – and this is a good project ready to set up as a regular riding machine.
THE STANLEY HEAD
(Invented by Thos Humber)
1881 HYDES & WIGFULL CATALOGUE EXTRACTS
